After a month that saw two MSNBC hosts leave the channel following incendiary remarks and another apologize for a heavily criticized segment, Keith Olbermann can’t help but wonder who’s in charge at his former employer.
Olbermann was reacting Tuesday to an apology from MSNBC commentator Melissa Harris-Perry over a segment that mocked Mitt Romney’s adopted black grandson, Kieran.
“Any adults in charge over there?” Olbermann tweeted.
When one of his Twitter followers argued that the “GOP only likes freedom of speech when it applies to them,” Olbermann, who became a hero to liberals and an enemy to conservatives during his time at MSNBC, stood by his criticism.
“Not the point. You can have your standards, or their standards,” he responded.
Olbermann, now with ESPN, left MSNBC in 2011 after his relationship with the cable news channel had deteriorated. The tension between Olbermann and his MSNBC colleagues was palpable during a pair of awkward moments at the 2008 Democratic National Convention.
On the opening night of the convention, Olbermann dismissed conservative pundit Joe Scarborough’s claim that Sen. John McCain’s (R-AZ) campaign was revitalized.
“Jesus, Joe, why don’t you get a shovel?” Olbermann could be heard saying off-screen, prompting a stunned a reaction from Scarborough.
The next night, Olbermann had another on-air tiff after he indicated that his hosting partner Chris Matthews was talking too much.
Scarborough took a thinly-veiled swipe at Olbermann in his latest book, “The Right Path,” but when asked by TPM about the dig, Scarborough largely praised Olbermann’s sportscasting chops.
Harris-Perry apologized Tuesday after drawing heavy criticism for the segment on Romney’s grandson. Her mea culpa came weeks after Martin Bashir resigned from MSNBC over remarks he made about Sarah Palin and about a month after Alec Baldwin departed the channel following a homophobic rant directed at paparazzi.
